Location 1:Brighton, small cosy cafe, just off the high street, window seat.
Props: bag, newspaper, slice of cake, hot chocolate, mobile phone, receipt, red origami swan.
Actors: Lizzy as Emily
Alex as the Waiter
Location 2: Brighton, private office, within large office building.
Props: Desk, computer, fax, phone, mobile phone, papers, filing system, notelets (reminder to meet Emily), Smashed photo frame (picture of Emily inside), white origami swan.
Actors: Jordan as Dad's dead body.
We are aware that there are factors we cannot control. Unfortunately as it is a long way for us to all travel, so we only really had one chance to film, so time was not on our side.
We had to make sure we got all the shots before it got too dark, which was sort of a race against time because by the time we got there it was about four and being the middle of winter it was getting darker and darker, which made it a struggle to keep continuity.
That was not our only continuity problem, we realised half way through that half the time the door in the background was open and half the door was shut. We quickly learnt our lesson as was keeping an extra watchful eye out for possible continuity indiscretions.
We were very pleased that it rained on the day as it created the atmosphere we were going for, as we were very much inspired by seven and thought the constant rain was very effective and appropriate.
Shot List Date Shot Description 30/11/08 Close-Up Shot of Clock fade 30/11/08 Close-Up Ask Tray with Half smoked cigarette fade 30/11/08 Close-Up Smashed photo frame of picture fade 30/11/08 Close-Up Papers mixed on desk fade 30/11/08 Tracking Tracks up mans body cut 30/11/08 P.O.V. Lift Doors open cut 30/11/08 Tracking Follows girls feet as she walks cut 30/11/08 Long Shot Girl walking in carpark
Note: We had to add on an ending bit because out piece wasn't long enough and so we came up with the idea that it shows the daughter who was on the phone, going to the cafe, the day before. This seems to work but at the end of the lesson, we were told that it still wasn't long enough, so we will have to change it next lesson.
Props Clock Ask Tray and Cigarette Photo and Frame Folders Phone
Throughout the whole scene, there is orchesteral music and an answer phone message plays, showing a youngish girl speaking and during the message she says something like 'Hi dad, haven't seen you for ages, just wondering why you didnt come to the cafe yesterday.... i waited for ages but you didn't show. Just making sure your ok?' etc.
The shot fades up on a clock which is hanging on a wall in a semi-dark room. There is a lamp on but the main source of light is coming from the window which is half covered by a striped blind, making the room have stripes of shadow. It then fades to a panning shot moving up a body from the legs. Another fade takes us to a cigarette burning out in an ash tray and then to some messed up papers on a desk. This is showing us evidence of a struggle. The next shot is the phone hanging off the hook. We here a grunt and it cuts to a mans hand, tied up on the arm of the chair. There is a masked man interrogating the tied up man and after a bit we here a gun shot.
This was our original idea but Ms Knott thought that having a gun shot would make it harder to be realistic so we took it out. We also thought that having an interrogater at all was hard because it was difficult to have dialogue and keep it looking proffesional. The last thing we changed at this stage was having the panning shot of the man at the beginning, so instead we moved it to the end.
In our lesson, we watched some of the last years thriller openings and i have chosen to give analytical feedback on 'Hysteria'.
The titles were presented in a standard font, in white, on a black background. this is done to make it look ordinary because the focus isn't really on the names. On the black background, there is out of focus lights moving across as though it is a torch searching for something, or someone! This is a good mood setter as it immediatly implies a dark, scary theme in the first few seconds.
I thought that the variety of shots used in this opening was very good and there are a few specific ones i'd like to analyse. They chose to use a high angled shot where the camera was in the top corner of the room, giving the impression that they are being watched or are on CCTV. The idea of never being alone or being watched is common in thriller films and this idea was used well. I think that this group may have over complicated things a bit when they used a watermarked extreme close up of the characters eyes on top of another shot. When she takes out the rubbish, there is a really nice low angle shot from in the bushes, used, again to give the idea of being watched or stalked.
As a whole piece, I wasn't certain that it was a thriller film, just because there seemed to be a lot of action happening and this is more a characteristic of a slasher or horror film. They did, however, use classic thriller techniques, as in there were a lot of still shots and this wasn't too complicated, but the storyline gave off the feeling of other genres. Something that added to the feeling of a thriller film, was the music. There was a lot of non-diajetic, orchestral music playing which set the atmosphere and made me feel tense. There was also diajetic bangs and crashes which made me jump and kept me engaged.
The last thing i noticed, was the mise-en-scene. I liked the use of lighting, especially when she went outside because the lights were from the house, making her sillhouted. The torch beam was also effective, but it seemed that she found it on a washing line which confused me! The fact that it was dark added to the atmosphere and made it feel 'thrillery' contrasting to the red costume, used to represent danger.
Overall, i enjoyed this opening, but thought that it could have been more thrillery and that if they were organised then they could have foun a way to pick up the torch before leaving the house, rather that finding it on a washing line!!
I like the opening titles sequence with the collage of black and white photos and the crossing out of credits, I thought that was a nice idea well put together with a very effective result. There were lots of low camera angles used which is very typical of thrillers, seeing feet but not faces gives a very mysterious, eery an uncomfortable atmosphere. The red light in the "the red room" where photos are developed, is immediately associated with blood. I also find the attention to detail with the washing blood off hands particularly impressive however the amount of tools dropped into the basin was slightly excessive yet they did make an effective noise in contrast to the sinister silence beforehand. The final image that flashes onto the screen is really quite surreal especially with the accompaniment of the drum and bass style music, To be honest it didnt personally work for me, in the classroom the general reaction was to laugh rather than feeling tense of afraid. I understand what they were trying to do and I think it was good that they tried something different and original but it didn't seem typical of a thriller opening. On the whole I think this is a great piece of work, i particularly liked the setting and titles. i I could change anything it would be the music accompanying the final shot.
I have researched the most well known thriller actors in the business and have found alot of information about them.
First on the list is Tom Cruise. He has apperead in many thiller films, incuding 'Collateral', 'Minority Report', 'War of the Worlds' and the 'Mission Impossible' trilogy. He was born on the 3rd of July, 1962, in New York and is a scientoligist. His most recent thriller film is the third 'Mission Impossible' film, which stars him. Here is the trailor for it...
In this trailor, the opening section is Tom Cruise's character, Ethan Hunt, being interrogated. This also opens the film and is very effective as the interogator is asking him questions that we don't understand about a 'Rabbitfoot'. This scene is repeated later on in the film and so, as an audience, we already know what is going to happen, the bit that we need to work out, is why it happened!
The next actor i am going to look at, is Matt Damon. Thriller films that he has appeared in, include 'The Departed', 'The Bourne Identity' series and 'The Oceans Eleven' series. He was born on the 8th of October, 1970, in Boston and now has 2 children. One of his most recen films is 'Ocean's Thirteen'. This is the trailor for it...
The last time we saw Danny Ocean's crew, they were paying back ruthless casino mogul Terry Benedict after stealing millions from him. However, it's been a while since they've come back together, which is all about to change. When one of their own, Reuben Tishkoff builds a hotel with known casino owner Willy Banks, the last thing he ever wanted was to get cut out of the deal personally by the loathsome Banks. Banks' attitude even goes so far as to finding the amusement in Tishkoff's misfortune when the double crossing lands Reuben in the hospital because of a heart attack. However, Danny and his crew won't stand for Banks and what he's done to a friend. Uniting with their old enemy Benedict, who himself has a vendetta against Banks, the crew is out to pull off a major plan. One that will unfold on the night Banks' newest hot spot opens up, when the crew is out to bankrupt one of the city's most despised businessmen. But they're not in this for the money, but for the revenge.
The final actor I am going to look at is Nicole Kidman. She is an australian actress and has appeared in such thriller films as 'To Die For', 'The Others', 'Eyes Wide Shut' and 'Dogville'. She was born on the 20th of June, 1967, in Honolulu and was once married to Tom Cruise.
A recent film that she has been in is 'The Others'. This is the trailor for it... A woman named Grace retires with her two children to a mansion on Jersey, towards the end of the Second World War, where she's waiting for her husband to come back from battle. The children have a disease which means they cannot be touched by direct sunlight without being hurt in some way. They will live alone there with oppressive, strange and almost religious rules, until she needs to hire a group of servants for them. Their arrival will accidentally begin to break the rules with unexpected consequences.
These are all modern actors and have been rated in the top ten thriller actors, at present.
In this blog, I have used information from: http://movies.toptenreviews.com/ http://www.imdb.com/ http://www.youtube.com/ http://www.google.co.uk/
Camera Angles are very important to a Thriller film, as this genre allows very diverse and unconventional angles. Camera angles can affect the audience to a certain degree, or portray a character of location in a specific way, it can change an atmosphere with a single change of shot. Bird’s-Eye view This is a shot, directly above the action, this is very unnatural and a very expensive angle to film from. Objects from an angle such as this may be unrecognisable at first. However this position puts the audience into an almost godlike position looking down on the characters. Hitchcock and his admirers such as Brian de Palma are fond of this particular shot. High Angle Not as extreme as a bird's eye view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview however for our low budget film a simple ladder could be used to achieve this angle. The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider picture. Eye Level This is a very good angle to capture an actors full facial expression, this could also be used for suspenseful moments. The camera is usually placed five or six feet from the ground to achieve this level. Low angle This is particularly good if you want your audience to feel overwhelmed by the camera on the screen, as they are looking down towards the camera, unlike the bird’s eye view where the audience are in the dominating position. This particular angle could be used to film a character running, with just the shot of his/her feet. Oblique/Canted Angle This is when the camera is held at tilt, i.e. not horizontal from the ground. This is usually used for the eye view of a character. This is common in thriller movies, where the animalistic character is watching its prey through a push. This angle is usually used with out a tri-pod so that the hand can get a realistic angle and movement.
